Thursday, October 18, 2007

Low Tech Solution for High Tech Problem -- The Science

...Although there's been solid research since the 1920s proving that enzymes are essential to health, mainstream medical practice has largely ignored their significance, in part because of confusion about different kinds of enzymes. Digestive enzymes, the ones most people think of when they hear the word "enzyme," are responsible for bringing together digestive agents and food so the food can be broken down into the tiny particles that are best absorbed by the gut without excess gas or discomfort.

The Power of Metabolic Enzymes

But there's a larger class of enzymes called metabolic enzymes that's critical to alleviating tiredness, burning fat and optimizing health. These are the brokers that minimize our risk of heart disease and diabetes by creating reactions that lead to clear arteries and balanced blood sugar. They help keep our skin glowing, our hair shiny and our joints limber.It's the interrelationship between digestive and metabolic enzymes that has baffled the medical community for decades. Although the two types of enzymes function to aid very different bodily functions, they are both produced by the same organs -- the pancreas and the liver. When our bodies don't have enough digestive enzymes, these organs switch from creating metabolic enzymes -- because they can't let food "just sit there" -- to making sure there are enough digestive enzymes to break down food. So things like converting fat into energy have to wait. According to Joseph Brasco, M.D., gastroenterologist at The Center for Colon & Digestive Diseases in Huntsville, AL, there's another metabolic cost to the manufacture of digestive enzymes. "Because the pancreas and liver need energy to produce enzymes, the resulting drain renders these organs temporarily unable to perform their functions of detoxification, blood sugar control and fat burning."

...many scientists agree that a diet high in raw fruits and vegetables is one of the healthiest things you can do to prevent and mitigate the spread of cancer [heart disease, and other major illnesses -- ajw].

According to rawchef.com "Living [raw -- ajw] foods are those plant-based foods that are still abundant with active enzymes. When we heat up foods to anything above 116 degrees Fahrenheit, we break down and destroy these living enzymes, stopping all enzymatic activity within the food.Most foods, in their raw form, contain everything we need to run our bodies efficiently. Cooking foods breaks down [destroys and deactivates -- ajw] some important enzymes and nutrients that can keep us healthy. Cooking changes the food’s makeup on a molecular level. Cooking can introduce carcinogenic elements, particularly in meat.

There are many different types of raw foodists, some of whom do eat meat; many are vegans or vegetarians. Many cancer survivors (or those who are just looking to follow a more healthy diet) will sometimes incorporate raw food into their regular diet, with raw food accounting for about 60-80% of their overall diet...